In It, To Win It

Good Morning!! I have a few friends that run,...for no god reason. Some of the them even run marathons around the country, to get a prize others don't really value. I suppose one might even be able to compare Christian life to a marathon,...it's a good long race that lasts a long time (God willing). But you don't decide on Saturday to run a marathon on Sunday. Marathons take preparation, vision, and training,...if you hope to finish. The apostle Paul says that we're supposed to do the same thing in life. We are supposed to discipline and train our bodies, as the race ahead of us is long.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.—1 Corinthians 9: 25-27 (NIV)

Our bodies is trainable,...but they will resist us. That's actually very exciting news because training and disciplining the body is worthwhile, also the scriptures say that offering our bodies is worship.(See Romans 12:1 and 6:13) What a great perspective to have about your body: It is a living sacrifice, an instrument of righteousness in the hands of God! THAT is a good reason to be joyful if I’ve ever seen one!

Practice is repetition, planning is preparation,...if we're truly "in it, to win it", then we need to be getting ready.

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O God, we are so glad that we can prepare ourselves to resist the world, and better ourselves for Your work! Continue to give us strength as we settle in for the long haul. We worship You as we change and offer our whole selves to Your will. Amen.

" Grace and Acceptance, to be known fully, and loved just the same,...that's God."

Our Body

Good Morning!! The human body; this is often a topic of immense concern in our culture,...especially this time of year. Look at the number of gym and diet ads on television right after New Year’s day, the plastic surgeons’ advertisements in the yellow pages, the latest infomercial touting some machine or program, that can give you a beach body, in less than ten minutes a day. Consider women's “body language.” Women's conversations almost invariably end up focusing on their bodies: clothes, makeup, hair,...and the dreaded "F” word—fat. Women are always talking about their bodies. But it's not just a female thing,...men like to talk about women's bodies too! (Who says we don't have anything in common?!)

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.—1 Thessalonians 5: 23 (NIV)

Yeah, our culture has taught us to be obsessed with our bodies, but in all the wrong ways,...and for all the wrong reasons. Should we really be concerned about which thin Hollywood star has gained 3.5 ounces over the holidays? Maybe not; but we are, just notice which magazines stand out most at check-out. But enough about what we, the books, and tabloids say about this,...today's' scripture tells us what God says about the body. Sure, our bodies might be "wonderful," but not always in the "good" sense of the word. Is it possible that we have been made in a way that is "full of wonder" in the sense that we might have more questions than answers? In His Word, God tells us the truth about our bodies,...all the good, and all the bad. I believe He wants us to see our bodies as He sees them,...and to use them as He intended. We need to praise Him, just for the way He has made us.

"Our relationship with our bodies, are apt to be a part of our autobiographies."

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Father God, we thank You for Your many blessings, and for shaping us to reflect Your perfect image. Help us to see our bodies as You see them. Please expose the lies that we've all believed about how we are made. Open our eyes and minds, so that we can see the full wonder of the bodies You have given us. Amen. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

" Grace and Acceptance, to be known fully, and loved just the same,...that's God."

Our Earth Suits

Good Morning!! These days in Christian culture, we are often taught to look away from our earthly selves and focus on God. This appears most often in response to problems like physical temptations, obsession with personal image, or substance addiction. While it is certainly important that we do not become our own idols and serve our own fleeting wants, let’s not forget our bodies are " fairly important " for the act of living on earth (intentional sarcasm). Just as a spacesuit keeps an astronaut alive, the body is essential for our earthly existence,...the human body can be "earth suit."

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.—1 Thessalonians 5: 23 (NIV)

The Bible says that human beings are made up of a spirit, soul, and body. In God’s creation, we are confined to a limited existence,...so we can reach others and tend to the creation He entrusted to us. While it is really important to pay attention to the growth of your spirit and soul, the body is what sustains those things on this earth. We must treat it in a healthy respect. Each part of us sustains the other, so being negligent to one part of us, is just as bad as paying too much attention to it. Paul told us to take care of " our whole selves ",...and that includes our body.

"Take care of your body,...It's the only place you have to live."

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Father God, we need You to balance our lives, the way You meant them to be. We can’t do that on our own. We want to care for these “earth suits,” but we don’t want to do that by our own wisdom or strength. We surrender them all to You. We submit to Your Spirit, in us, in every area. Show us how to care for them all, keeping our attentions in check when they become pointed or selfish. In Jesus' name, Amen.

" Our Biblical belief is more than something we confess with our mouths,...it's something we confess with our lives."

We Are His Masterpiece

Good Morning!! There are 74 trillion cells in the human body. The white blood cells in the lymph tissue can form 10,000-100,000 different antibodies. They fight against foreign tissue and can make these anti-bodies at a rate of 2000 per second. A single white blood cell can kill as many as a hundred bacteria. Over the course of a lifetime, the heart will pump an average of 52,560,000 gallons of blood. That's enough to fill a New York skyscraper!  I could go on, but you get the point,...Our bodies are incredible.

Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."—Genesis 1: 26 (NIV)

When God sculpted humanity in His image, an amazing amount of detail went into the works, resulting in an amazing, intricate masterpiece. He created life the way He did, to glorify Himself,...but He took another step further with humanity in His love. He designed us to represent Himself! Isn’t it awesome that God has blessed us to be His masterpiece? I can’t think of much else that’s better… key word being "much." God also designed us to be inhabited by His Spirit,...a personal relationship shared by no other living thing in existence. All of these things work together to create a complex, beautiful creature that cannot be replicated.

"The human body is a machine which winds its own springs." –Julien Offroy de la Mettrie

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Father God, we're in awe of the intricacies You have built into our bodies. We rejoice that You shaped us and You designed us to be in a relationship with You. Help us to remember how special we are,...that because You made us, we're special, unique, and beautiful in Your eyes. Amen.

" Our Biblical belief is more than something we confess with our mouths,...it's something we confess with our lives."

God’s Working Today,...Through Us

Good Morning!! Have you ever wondered why we don't see God's active handiwork and presence like we do in the Old Testament? God revealed Himself in some pretty dramatic ways back in the good ol' days: disembodied hands writing on walls, pillars of fire leading the crowds, even having dinner with God on Mt. Sinai with Moses and the 70 elders of Israel. (No joke! Check out Exodus 24:9-11.)  it’s easy to look around and wonder if He even works like that anymore. I’m convinced that He has never stopped working supernaturally across the globe,...and I'm not just astounded by what He is doing "out there"; I'm astounded by something even more incredible: God is able to work "in us."

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.—Ephesians 3: 20-21 (NIV)
This is definitely one of the great mysteries of the faith,...and yet one of the most practical and profound. God works through those of us who know Him, and trust Him to bring honor and glory to Himself. How does He do that in all believers all of the time? Again, I have no idea. But I'm sure glad that He does. Without God living through us, it wouldn't just be difficult to live the Christian life,... it would be impossible.

"Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it." -Thomas Fuller

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Holy Spirit, thank You for Your indwelling power that is at work within us. As we go about our day, use us to do Your amazing works in the world. We believe You are able to do more than we can ask or imagine. Live through us to bring glory to You in Christ today, in any way You choose. Amen.

" Our Biblical belief is more than something we confess with our mouths,...it's something we confess with our lives."

Only God, Empowers Us

Good Morning!! " God will never put more on you, than you can handle."  We hear that saying all the time. Sometimes I automatically nod my head because it just sounds right,...like a plaque on my grand-mothers' wall. It is usually presented as a concise summary of God’s care for us. The problem is, it isn’t true,...we’ve all hit obstacles in our walks that aren’t possible for us to pass. In fact, I’d even say that God puts things in our lives that we can’t take care of, on purpose. If we could handle everything on our own, there would be no need for us to rely on God, and that’s how we were designed to live!

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.—2 Corinthians 9: 8 (NIV)
So how does that work?...I have no idea! I don't know how it is, that He energizes our thoughts, or the molecules in our bodies, to allow us to accomplish things and choose things, that we otherwise couldn’t, without His strength. But we know that He does. And when we obey Him, and allow Him to work through us, we experience it on a grand scale.

Only by God's grace, we are able to do things,...that we would be unable to do on our own.

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Father in Heaven, it's tough to take on the challenges that we sometimes have to face. We don’t want to try it on our own. We're weak, but You are strong. Be our strength. May others see what You’re doing with and through us, and be amazed by it. Let the world know through Your work in us that You are the source of this and all power! Amen.

" Our Biblical belief is more than something we confess with our mouths,...it's something we confess with our lives."

It's Just A Waste Of Space, If You're Not Using It.

Good Morning!!  I have a tendency to accumulate things. The garage and basement of our home contain some items that have not been used in years. When Sheila suggests that I don't ever use something and we should get rid of it, I usually put up a good argument for why it might come in handy some day. Don't tell her, but I probably have some things I will never use,...but who knows? If I fix something around the house, or on a side job, and use an item that she thinks should have been thrown out, I feel a sense of pleasure as I casually mention to her: "Oh, by the way, I used that thing today. Good thing we didn't get rid of it, huhh?... other wise, I would've had to go buy one."

...because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.—James 1: 3,4 (NIV)
The Bible tells us we should look upon the struggles and trials of life as opportunities to put faith to work. When we find ourselves in situations where we are over our heads and rapidly running out of our own resources, we should see this as an opportunity to exercise faith. How do you know faith works unless you use it? If you're never called upon to use it, someone may rightfully ask you, "What good is it?" When life gets difficult, don't gripe, or give up. Look to God and begin to use the faith He gave you, for a time such as this. Faith in God isn't just for emergencies, of course,...but it's good to know it's there, in case of an emergency!

"Faith is what produces obedience in our lives."

(From Dream to Destiny, Robert Morris, p. 59)

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Lord Jesus, when life gets difficult, help us to remember to exercise the faith You have given us. Amen.

" Our Biblical belief is more than something we confess with our mouths,...it's something we confess with our lives."